Mostly event announcements, news, and bicycle related activist opinions... Download Critical Mass flyers and posters, or upload your own Email vancouvercm~AT~gmail~DOT~com for a posting password Yes, we ride the last Friday of every month!

25.1.08

Critical Mass is This Evening!

January Critical Mass!

The first Mass of 2008, a lucky year for bicycle revolution to change the world! See you at the VAG at 5:30pm! Everybody welcome, this ain't no clique.

Stop Suburban Sprawl West of Victoria!

Stop Suburban Sprawl West of Victoria!

Monday, January 28th make your voice heard at the Public Hearing!

In early 2007, BC's Minister of Forests, Rich Coleman approved more than28,000 hectares of Western Forest Product's (WFP) forest lands on VancouverIsland to be removed from Tree Farm Licenses (TFL) 25, 6, and 19 whichpreviously regulated these private lands. By removing the lands from theirTFL's, it eliminated forest practices regulations, cut control regulations,ungulate wintering ranges, restrictions on raw log exports, andprohibitions against selling off the land for housing developments.

Western Forest Products is now looking to sell off 2500 hectares of theseforest lands west of Victoria to a Vancouver developer, including lands bythe Sooke Potholes (highly ecologically significant dry maritime forests)and Jordan River (heavily by surfers).

On Monday January 28th, the Capital Regional District (CRD) will hold apublic hearing on two environmentally-progressive bylaws for parts of theJuan de Fuca Electoral Area that would halt suburban sprawl on theselands: Bylaws 3495 and 3500

The two bylaws go hand-in-hand. Bylaw 3495 would increase the minimumparcel size for subdivision purposes in the Forestry Zone to 120 hectares(296.5 acres); Bylaw 3500 would add a land use component to regulate thedensity of housing to one one-family dwelling unit per parcel for these lands.

So far these two bylaws have passed through 2 readings, and they need topass through a third reading to come into effect.

More information will be available at the public hearing. You can also viewdetails on the CRD website here:

It is key to fill the hall with concerned citizens at this hearing if weare to stop suburban sprawl west of Victoria. Please come out to make yourvoice heard! Also, be sure to bring a brief written and/or oral submission!

All submissions must be received prior to 4:30 p.m. on the date of thePublic Hearing (Jan.28) or be submitted at the Public Hearing itself.

------------------- Join 70 000 Canadians and become a member or donate tothe Western Canada Wilderness Committee, Canada's largest grassroots,membership-based wilderness protection organization. Donate online on theleft side of our website www.wcwcvictoria.org

I really like the articulation in this issue of urban biking revolution. Itis slowly happening - it is happening in waves. Now is the time for anotherleap forward in consciousness. We need to start converting car drivers enmasse. When we add functional (rather than stylish only) city bikes andcargo capacity to the mix it becomes a lot easier to imagine the car-freepossibilities.